The year was 1871. The country was in the shadow of the Civil War and General Grant was in the White House and what some consider the first Major Leagues was founded. The Forrest City Blue Stockings debuted and featured some of baseball's greats such as Deacon White, and IBI history guru Rick Lamborn takes us for a trip down memory lane on how that first season of Cleveland baseball went.

Remember when the Tribe traded for Ubaldo in the middle of 2011? The IBI's James Keene does, and he is not happy with what Jimenez has shown since being acquired. There is no doubt that Jimenez has been a major disappointment, which begs the question: is it time to move on?

The Indians lost to the Houston Astros. That pretty much sums it up. The offense continues to struggle with runners on base and in scoring position. Brett Myers gave up two home runs, but still managed to keep the Tribe within striking distance over five innings. The bullpen was once again outstanding pitching four shutout innings. However, it all came back to the offense and lack thereof in scoring opportunities. The IBI's Jake Dungan gives his "second thoughts" on the game...

It was another quiet night down on the farm thanks to two rain outs that washed away the games for Carolina and Lake County, but there were some very good and some not so good performances at Columbus and Akron on Friday night. Trevor Bauer had another great outing, Jesus Aguilar continues to pile up RBI, and more!

In a back and forth affair, the Bowie Baysox took advantage of late inning mistakes by the Aeros, trouncing them 13-5. The Aeros made several errors and they proved costly as they fell to 5-10 on the season.

Frustrating is one way to put it. Baffling could be another. Offensive woes continued for the Tribe Friday night, as Houston starter Lucas Harrell and the Astros edged out Cleveland to a 3-2 victory, sending the Indians to a season-high five game losing streak.

Ubaldo Jimenez had arguably his darkest day as a member of the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday as he allowed seven runs in less than two innings of work. With their record at 5-9, the Indians have gotten off to a less than stellar start and a big part of that has been Jimenez. With Jimenez's struggles, should the Indians be exploring alternative options right now? Join the IBI's Steve Orbanek as he ponders that thought in the latest edition of the weekly IBI staple, Orbiting Cleveland.

After being pummeled by the Boston Red Sox in a three game sweep at home, the Cleveland Indians sit in last place in the AL Central, proud owners of a 5-9 record. While it is too early -- way too early -- to hit the panic button, there are some warning signs that the Indians better watch just how far they fall out of the race, even in April.

As the 2013 MLB Draft approaches, IBI draft guru Jeff Ellis has been a bit surprised by the amount of fans who want to push the Indians draft in a certain direction based on need. Jeff would say at this point that 90% of the questions he fields are based on pitching and how the Indians have to draft pitching because they lack impact pitching in the system. But he says that it should not be that cut and dry...

Twenty-five years ago, when they were briefly teammates on a typically mediocre 1980s Cleveland Indians squad, John Farrell seemed to bring out the best in Terry Francona. On the flip side, John Farrell did not seem to find Francona’s presence mutually beneficial, leading to some bizarro inverse relationship to one another. That is, until this week. Join Andrew Clayman as he gives his Second Thoughts on Ferrell's Red Sox completing a three-game sweep of Francona's Indians, after the jump...

Thursday was a busy day Around The Farm, headlined by some offensive fireworks in Akron. The Aeros' offense was clicking on all cylinders, with players like Chris Wallace and Carlos Moncrief knocking the ball around the park. No one was bigger than Chun Chen, however, who finally answered the question everyone has been asking: where is the power? Join Arthur Kinney as he recaps the night in the minor leagues and checks in on the other affiliates, after the jump...

Bowie Baysox designated hitter Caleb Joseph would like to play against the Akron Aeros all season long. In four games thus far in 2013, Joseph has 10 RBI against Akron pitching. Thursday night, he swatted a pair of homers and a double to drive in four runs and lead the Baysox to a wild, 13-11, 10-inning victory over the Aeros in the opener of a four-game series at Canal Park.

Boston swept the field clean from any Tribe offense for the third straight game on Thursday, as the Red Sox brought out their booms defeating the Indians 6-2 to complete the series sweep. Red Sox starter Jon Lester (3-0, 1.73 ERA) blanked the Tribe for seven strong innings, as the left-hander surrendered just two runs on four hits, sending Cleveland to their fourth straight loss. Join Jim Berdysz as he recaps Thursday's loss after the jump...

The Lake County Captains crumbled to the Dayton Dragons in a 7-3 extra-inning affair Thursday night, as a South Carolina native with Ohio ties tallied 12 strikeouts. Joe Colon, a former Captain and Carolina Mudcat, joined the team as he received the start against Dayton right-hander Drew Cisco (1-0, 1.38). Cisco is the grandson of Galen Cisco, who pitched in the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox organizations, coached in the major leagues, and was part of the 1957 national champion Ohio State University football team.

After a horrible first road trip of the season, the Carolina Mudcats did something they had not done in five games: win. The Mudcats jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 5-1 win in the first game of a four game series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Thursday night. Mudcats manager David Wallace said it was a big win for the Mudcats coming off of a five-game losing streak.

The Columbus Clippers have finished their second week of the season going 3-3 and bringing their overall record to 7-6. The Clippers welcomed the Indianapolis Indians and Louisville Bats to Columbus after traveling to both their stadiums a week prior, but the unpredictable Midwest weather postponed a few games. The IBI's Cameron Weimer recaps the week that was for the Clip Show...

Today’s Happenings focus in on the hot start of High-A Carolina second baseman Joey Wendle and Triple-A Columbus right-handed pitcher Fernando Nieve. How much is Wendle rising up the prospect ranks? Could Nieve be an option in Cleveland? Tony touches on that and also looks at the impressive approach that Low-A Lake County first baseman Nellie Rodriguez is showing, the clutch performance of Double-A Akron first baseman Jesus Aguilar, and much more on players like Tim Fedroff, Chun Chen, Owen Dew, Ryan Merritt and more.

The Inside Pitch is back for 2013. The on-line radio show is hosted by Andrew Zajac and Jeff Ellis, who are two contributing members of IndiansBaseballInsider.com. In tonight's episode, Andrew and Jeff will cover the Indians, Browns, and Cavs, discussing the struggles of Ubaldo, the Browns upcoming draft, and the state of the Cavs.

When you think of the prototypical baseball player, a few images probably come to mind: tall, muscular, fast, top physical condition, etc. In other words, baseball players are not supposed to look like you, me, and Jose Ramirez. Ramirez is roughly my size at 5’9”, 165 pounds and generally does not fit the stereotype of a baseball player, but the IBI's Jim Piascik loves his potential and recently had a chance to sit down and talk with him about his success to date.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!